Pet Paradise

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PET PARADISE SHOULD BE CLOSED

By Karma will come - 10/25/2006

ENGLISHTOWN, NEW JERSEY -- Before I bought my puppy, I did a research online. I read reviews about PET PARADISE. I read horrible stories where I just don't believe, but I was stubborn and did not want to believe my eyes. I am 17 turning 18, and I have always loved animals. I never had a puppy and I was attached to this puppy or whatever he was. I knew I had to buy him, not including the vet bills and the food they made me buy, and other needed accessories. I knew money was hard to make, but losing him was something I just couldn't manage.

My mom brought him to the vet 2 days after the purchase, my mom was embarrassed when she found out he is not a purebred like I was told by the sales, and I was told by the pet store he was healthy, but he was taking this pill and this liquid medication, which appears to be too strong for my puppy. He also had skin problem, all these information was just heartbreaking. So, I came home from work finding out he is not a purebred (so I was ripped off) and he is sick. I tried to stay calm while my parents continuously yelling at me. I knew there was nothing I can possibly do, so I just cleaned his crate, fed him, played with him for an hour, and then just went to do homework.

The following 2 days were hell for me. I come home from school then off to work, come back home at 9:30 and expect controversy from my parents. On October 13 Friday, I was studying for SATs because SATs was the following day. My mother came home around 6 started yelling, "I told you not to get him he's unhealthy". I just remember crying thinking I just can't take this any more. I told her to call the vet and we are going there now. I went to the vet she told me "Your puppy is not what I thought he was, not just that, he's also unhealthy". I started to cry a little because I knew where this was going - "unfit for sale".

I remember driving home just crying, knowing that I have a huge test the following day, just made me feel horrible. I ran into my house grabbed him and just cried. He is my first puppy, my birthday gift, my Christmas gift, and I had a costume for him for Halloween. My father came home, and we all left to bring him back to Pet Paradise. I remember holding him, remembering how I carried him home the day I bought him, I was just shatter. He was just crying in the car, I know he did not like car rides. We arrived at Pet Paradise, I refuse to watch him leave, and I just sat in the car.

I was honestly devastated, and SATs was just not something I needed the following day. They say they are animal lovers, but honestly I believe they're in just for business. They can care less for these innocent puppies, when their minds are all on the cash. They are heartless people in my mind and always will be. They ruined my Halloween, my 18th birthday, and my first experience with my own puppy. These puppies are innocent, and I feel bad that these sick puppies are not treated well.

Puppy Mill Businesses should just not be allowed, it's a selfish business when nearly all these puppies being sold are sick or going to be sick and these peoples are actually making money sending these puppies to die. I also read Philly's Story. It was very, very upsetting. I really hope something like that would never happen, breaking a little girls heart, that's just cold hearted. I just want Pet Paradise to be closed, before Christmas just so no one will be hurt when they find out their puppy is sick, and is unfit for sale. I went back to Pet Paradise, my puppy is no longer there, and I wonder where he is. I felt terrible bringing him back to that place.

I just wished I could have convinced my parents to have kept him. DON'T EVER GET A PUPPY FROM PET PARADISE. THEY ARE THE WORSE PET STORES IN NJ. JUST GOOGLE PET PARADISE COMPLAINTS trust me you will get a list. Please spread these stories. Thank you so much for your time.

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Pet Paradise - Should be put out of Business

By graciechic - 10/17/2006

ENGLISHTOWN, NEW JERSEY -- After reading many of the online reviews on the consumer complaint websites I feel that I am just repeating the same story with different names. However maybe my letter will put in motion what should have been done years ago with Pet Paradise. They should be SHUT DOWN! I will preface this story with I knew before I went into this store that I should not purchase from a Pet Store. The puppies come from puppy mills. The "papers" they provide are fraudulent and ridiculous. But my emotions got the better of me and my family purchased an 8-week old Chihuahua from Pet Paradise in Englishtown, NJ on September 1, 2006.

After deciding to buy the puppy who we named "Gracie", we were barraged with the paperwork contracts to sign. Our salesperson, **, was explicit in explaining how incredible Pet Paradise's health guarantee is and supplied us with a copy of the New Jersey state law regarding the sale of puppies. We were told how important it is to get our puppy checked by a veterinarian and if the puppy was sick with kennel cough (she explained it was very common in puppies) then we needed to get her on a "very strong" antibiotic at once. Do not let the veterinarian give us an antibiotic like "Clavamox" because it just like giving the puppy water!

I laughed so hard inside at this absurd comment. I asked her at that time if she was a veterinarian which she replied she was not but she knows how the veterinarians practice... "They just want you to have multiple office visits so that they can make money on their patients!" Sounds like that's what they do by getting their puppies from puppy mills and then charging obscene prices for them! Should have been a red flag right there for me but once again my emotions got hold and my daughter was already attached. That's the heart of their business. They play on these poor dogs and cats cuteness. They know we cannot resist.

We were told that we had to buy a bag of puppy food from their store because it's sooo important to keep them on the same food. Puppy food for the dog lover's soul (or something like that) I cannot remember because they don't sell it anywhere else that I am aware of - not the major chains anyway. Why would you put a puppy just weaned from its mother on a food that isn't sold at Pet Smart or Petco? Why? They must be making money on that deal. We also had to buy a crate from them as well and were told we had to crate train the dog. HaHa.

I don't crate train but I bought the crate anyway. They didn't have one to fit a one lb. chihuahua but we still had to buy one that was too large. Still making money! I couldn't get out of there fast enough. We were told to force feed the dog if she wasn't eating. Anything the dog would eat. That is ridiculous. She even gave me a few jars of Gerber Banana Baby food! Do dogs eat fruit? Why were these people allowed to open up a pet store? They are obviously completely uneducated on animal care.

Well, long story short...Gracie was checked the next day by our veterinarian. She appeared to be fine..but were told "She could still be in the incubation phase. Watch her carefully". Two days later back at the vet with horrible coughing. X-rays were taken, she had pneumonia. My vet felt since she was so small and young that she should be taken care of by a critical care veterinarian. Off to Red Bank Vet. She was very ill and needed 3 days in the hospital - oxygen, iv antibiotics (hope that's strong enough for Pet Paradise ). At this point there was nothing I wouldn't do to save Gracie and I certainly would never bring her back to Pet Paradise.

Our bill was $1800 and the worry immeasurable. After three weeks of intensive caring for our new puppy with multiple medications and repeated visits to the veterinary hospital she is doing much better. During this time we documented EVERYTHING and sent all bills and certificate of unfitness to Pet Paradise. They assured us they would take care of it, we had to make sure that we submitted our bills to the pet warranty company which they work with for issues such as ours. We sent them all receipts certified mail. How surprised were we when we received the return receipt signed by a **, could this be the same ** that works in the Pet Paradise Store?

When I asked them about this they acted dumb and had no idea what they were talking about. They own the pet warranty company. Talk about deceptive business practices! It has been over thirty days since the papers were submitted and still no check. They have used every stalling tactic known to man. Not only are they not paying us which is required by NJ State Law..(within 10 days) they are being deceitful. They have hung up on me and my husband on two different occasions. When threatened with a complaint with the Div. of Consumers Affairs they welcomed us to do so. I have never dealt with such unscrupulous people in my life.

It is a shame that they are in the animal business and that the animals are the ones ultimately suffering in this situation. I am so embarrassed that I bought an animal from these degenerates. I knew better and I did it anyway. Hopefully my story will help in the elimination of "puppy mill pet stores" because that is EXACTLY what Pet Paradise is. I hope that the state of New Jersey does the right thing and thoroughly investigates these people.

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Please close down Pet Paradise. It's not paradise it's hell!

By heidi99 - 07/28/2006

MALBORO, NEW JERSEY -- I always said to everyone don't buy dogs from pet stores just because my friend bought her dog from freehold raceway mall's pet store in N.J. and the dog had one leg that grew shorter than others, and she had to forfeit her papers to the pet store and then they would pay the dog's medical bills.Well what did I do? I went to Pet Paradise recently and took one look at this gorgeous creature and say to my mom "I love this dog" and then well, she says to me she will buy it for me. t will cost 1,600.00.

Well before buying the puppy I ask this fat slob guy who works there and who finally sold the puppy to us, "Are these dogs from puppy mills?" "No" he says, "our store only buys from breeders", then I ask "Can I have their phone number?" he says "Yes if you want it." "OK" I say then the guy says "If you want the puppy there's a down payment of 450.00." I said "Well the puppy is four months old can I get a discount on the puppy?" He asks the boss ** she says "No way".

So we decide to take him anyway so I did the down payment & fat guy says "You cannot have him for ten days. He's sick with a (cold)". That's all he said even though it was running a temperature. That was a Thursday,and then Saturday comes and me and my husband go to the pet store to visit my pup guess what? ** sees me and says "I called you one hour ago you can take your puppy home". I was shocked. It's not ten days yet, what because whoops I guess I missed their call. I'm here now, and I don't have my 50 dollars off a puppy coupon - it's in my drawer home. I also did not remember this either when I went to pay at the register.

I was overwhelmed with paperwork about this pup and signing everything, then the people at the desk say "Bring your pup to the vet by 14 days" then before I leave they tell me "It has kennel cough not a cold and all pet store dogs have this" they say! Also I ask for the breeder's number and they tell me "Everything's in the papers", it was not. I was just leaving with my pup now halfway out the door it came back to me, MY $50 off COUPON!! So I said "Excuse me I forgot to give you my coupon. It's at home." Fat boy seemed pissed. He goes in the back and gets the (boss). She snaps at me "Sorry you must present it before being rang up sorry" - that was it.

Also ** the owner made me by chicken soup puppy food. She said "You cannot have the pup if you don't buy it because changing food will make him sick!" Well I didn't want to feed my pup this because it was made of duck ingredients which I don't like, ducks are like dogs to me. I had a pet duck as a child. I don't like to buy duck products - that's just my personal business. She didn't care, I had no choice. I was made to buy it but never did I give that puppy food to my pup. I will donate the bag to a shelter. When I got home I made an appointment to see my vet, he says my puppy has tracheobronchitis and Giardia, and also it had a hernia operation too.

The pet store never told me anything about a hernia operation and only through close exam of my pet's papers did I see it written in small writing. Well the vet gives me a 'not fit for sale' letter to give to the pet store. The next day I go to Pet paradise and tell ** the owner/boss. She says "Do you want the puppy or not?" I loved the puppy and thought "What will they do with this puppy if I give it back?" In the beginning they said the pup's been at their store three months before I bought him. "Why?" I thought. My pup's one of the most cute of the dogs she had there, how could no one want this beauty?

Then I find out **'s sister owned shake a paw puppies on Fischer Blvd in Toms River NJ that (closed down) that same time the Pet Paradise had my puppy. Those three months, well could it had been my puppy was at shake a paw and when it closed down he was shipped to Pet Paradise? "Could be" that's what I think. Well I told ** I wanted to keep my puppy. Then she made me sign papers that I decided to keep the puppy forever. Anyway I still have him and have been trying to crate train him with a crate divider for two months now and he's peeing and pooing in his crate exactly where he's sleeping on himself.

Every morning we let him outside. 6 am he gets poo all over his nice white coat and he's turning yellow from peeing on himself. I thought dogs don't pee or poop where they sleep - he does! And he's going on the floor if he in for two minutes free in my home, this dog's learned this in a pet store caged for three months. Peeing in a cage with paper that's all he learned from that pet store. Now I'm being tortured trying to potty train him now! How will he ever be a family member and be in my home if I cannot trust him for two seconds peeing on the floor? I'm concerned maybe he'll never learn. Now what do I do? Any suggestions about my potty training this dog?

Please don't buy from those ** in Pet Paradise you might not be able to deal with what I dealt with already. Also later I went on petshopdogs.com and found my pup's from a USDA puppy breeder or Puppy mill (the hunte corporation).

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PET PARADISE NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN

By NICK108 - 05/17/2006

ENGLISHTOWN, NEW JERSEY -- Back in January I made the mistake of going to a pet store to purchase my dogs. I purchased two dogs from PET PARADISE. When I asked the price of the dogs I almost fell over but I was assured by the saleswoman ** that I was paying for quality. If my dogs were sick in any way I would be fully reimbursed until they were better up to twice the price of the dogs. I was also informed that the dogs were just checked, the day before, by their own vet and found to be fit and healthy. I don't mind paying a little extra for peace of mind and this warranty sounded great.

I brought the dogs to my vet and found they both had Giardia (a parasite). One of them had a skin infection and, believe it or not, had already had a surgery to repair a hernia!!! My vet told me that my dog was unbreedable because this was a genetic defect. I checked her medical papers and didn't see any sign of this operation on them. How did their vet miss ALL of these problems unless they were never checked? I called ** when I returned home and was assured again that ALL medical bills would be covered. When I asked her about the surgery she said "I should talk to ** the owner".

After two months of vet visits and hundreds of dollars later the dogs were finally healthy. I submitted my vet bills, attached my agreement and sent them to Pet Guardian (Pet Paradise's insurance company). Several weeks later I received two checks equalling about $130 and a list of procedures and tests and medications that weren't covered because they were "preventative". I could not understand how antibiotics and wormers prescribed to cure my dog of afflictions that it came home with could be described as preventative. The best part was that they covered the meds on one dog but not the same exact meds for the other one.

I called Pet Paradise and this time got the owner ** on the phone. Let me tell you she doesn't like it when people call with a problem, she gets nasty. I told her that the bills I submitted weren't being paid by her insurance carrier. I told her that I called the insurance carrier twice directly and never received a return call. What's going on? In a huff she said that she'll call them and hung up on me. I never gave her any information except that I wasn't paid. How she can call an insurance company without a claim number? Sounds a little fishy.

Anyway she calls me back and tells me that they will pay for the meds but not the office visit or the initial tests, or the antibiotic for the skin infection. I told her that that made no sense. Now she got really nasty and started yelling at me that I should have taken the dogs to her vet and I wouldn't have had these problems. I informed her that if her vet had actually examined the dogs and treated them that I wouldn't have had to nurse them back to health, not to mention the fact that he hadn't noticed the 2 inch incision on her abdomen.

She told me I should get a lawyer thinking I would back down. I told her I would and two weeks later miraculously a check arrived at my house for the balance of the bills. This shop needs to be inspected, their records searched and the dogs examined by an independent vet. No one should have to go through what I went through. As a consumer, I should get what I pay for, whether it be a dog, a car, or a cup of coffee. As a human being, what these dogs are being subject to is criminal. DO NOT BUY FROM PET PARADISE.

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Sick Puppies/Puppy Mills

By barbara_ - 03/01/2005

ENGLISHTOWN, NEW JERSEY -- Approximately five years ago we were interested in getting a puppy for our children. Being animal lovers, our first effort was to visit the Old Bridge animal shelter but unfortunately there was only three dogs and were not a fit for our home. We then went to Pet Paradise on Route 9 to simply 'look' and get an idea as to which breed we may be interested in. Needless to say, we fell head over heels for a Miniature Pinscher. Given that we were unfamiliar with this breed and lacking knowledge of how to tell a healthy puppy from a sick one, we did not realize that this puppy was terribly sick.

After many visits to the vet, staying up many nights to address his various needs and most important keeping him warm all the time (including nights when we decided it was best for him to sleep in our bed under the covers instead of a cold cage) we finally brought him back to health. While re-visiting Pet Paradise several months after our first purchase we found another MinPin who was also sick. We were not looking for another dog but after hearing the staff's attitude regarding the puppies that die (they just simply look to get their money back from the breeders) we decided to purchase this puppy as well (expensive rescue!).

Again, after much attention, love and visits to the vet we were able to save this puppy as well (and she is an absolute delight). The third and last puppy we ‘rescued' from Pet Paradise was a MinPin who weighed barely over 1 pound. This was the most difficult of the three, but we put much effort into this and he grew up to be a healthy dog. Our vet, to this day, will remind me that she never thought these dogs could be saved. As an animal lover I find it unacceptable that retail stores like Pet Paradise can have such lackadaisical attitudes towards their ‘inventory'.

A quick search on the internet reveals many resources to adopt pets from non-profit organizations that truly care about the animals and finding the right homes. If you are considering getting any animal (dog, cat, hamster etc.) PLEASE, PLEASE research these non-kill shelters for the perfect addition to your family. You are guaranteed a healthy pet that has been assessed for not only medical concerns, but also any potential temperament problems. They truly have an interest in making sure that your new pet will be a fit with your family and environment.

Also, please consider adopting mature (non-puppy, non-kitten etc.) animals as many of them are already house broken (yeah!!) and their personalities are already developed leaving fewer surprises for you. The fewer animals that we purchase from retail stores will impact the mills that supply these animals (many of them are run with one goal – profit). Many of these mills have deplorable conditions which results in sick puppies, kittens etc. I just reviewed one mill in PA, which crates the animals outside with no protection from the weather! You can also impact the amount of animals that are euthanized every year in ‘kill shelters' when you adopt an animal.

Last, but not least, please make sure that you neuter your animals to ensure less ‘little paws' running around. As a result of this experience, we refuse to enter Pet Paradise or any other retail store that sells animals. We patronize stores for purchases such as food, grooming necessities etc. that specialize in this as their core competency and do not sell these poor animals that were brought into this world via a mill. We can all make a positive impact on this terribly sad aspect of animal cruelty, if we try!

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Boarding Pets

By christinefanelli816 - 12/29/2014

Rating: 5/51

PALM COAST, FLORIDA -- I have recently started boarding my dog and have only used Pet Paradise because I would not feel comfortable leaving my dog anywhere else! It gives me peace of mind knowing he is being cared for (and played with) so I can enjoy my vacation!

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Boarding Services

By Kattina - 08/30/2014

Rating: 5/51

HOUSTON, TEXAS -- Pet Paradise to board your pet in Houston. They have locations conveniently placed near Houston's airports. The people are so nice and helpful. The grounds are clean as well. Eko loves going there. I'd recommend this place to any pet owner.

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PET PARADISE - WARNING - Do Not Buy Animals From Them!!!!!!!!

By Lisa88 - 03/15/2006

MARLBORO (ENGLISHTOWN), NEW JERSEY -- This is the absolute worst pet store! Do not purchase animals from them. Almost all of them are sick. They are inbred. They breed sick animals. Unfortunately, the sickness doesn't appear until after it's too late to return them. And at that point, why would you want to anyway? You fall in love with your pet. Myself along with MANY others have purchased animals from them and they are all sick. My dog went blind after 6 months of purchasing him - he was only 8 months old. An animal eye specialist said that he had glaucoma which was most likely inherited from one of his parents.

The owners couldn't care less when I called them. They did absolutely nothing about it but insult me and try to bully me on the phone! The owners are so disrespectful and are complete scum of the earth (I hear that from people in the town that know them personally too!) They are husband and wife and the husband (the fat ** that he is) thinks I was scared of him when he tried to threaten me on the phone. Try again **. Yours is coming real soon - I promise you that!

I am and will do anything in my power to get this place shut down so these people, who are scum of society, do not have anything to do with animals again! The best thing to do is spread the word to EVERYONE that you know not to purchase anything from this store!

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Store should be SHUT DOWN!!!

By alfieh - 08/21/2007

NEW JERSEY -- 7/24/07 at 09:53 AM - I went to Pet Paradise in Marlboro, NJ the other day & fell in love with a Wheaten Terrier. When I asked one of the teenagers running the store to see papers on that dog, she hesitated, but them got them for me. The dog had a phony family pedigree tree, because my breeder from my wheaten that just died was on it, & he said he has nothing to do with that paper. Also, the breeder they got the wheaten from ** in IOWA IS A PUPPY MILL. If you Google his name, you would cry from his conditions, especially the photos of the dirt & rusted cages these dogs are in. HORRIBLE!! PET PARADISE should NOT be in business. PLEASE SHUT THEM DOWN!!!

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DO NOT BUY ANIMALS FROM PET PARADISE!

By jenc - 07/07/2005

MARLBORO, NEW JERSEY -- Bought a puppy from Pet Paradise. First, kennel cough (pretty common), Then an infection in the foot. Paid for everything, never even mentioned it to the pet store. Then the dog is diagnosed with mange and is now unbreedable. If we ever wanted her to have puppies, they would get it. I called the store and got THE WORST customer service I have ever experienced in my life. The owner, yes, the owner insulted me on the phone and would not listen to a word I had to say in between her insults. She tried to tell me that every dog was born with mange. That is NOT true. Every dog is NOT born with mange.

They did agree to pay for the treatment, but said I had to turn in her papers because now she's not breedable. If I had to hand over papers, I wanted some money back because now I paid $3,000 for a dog with no papers. She said there was no way I was getting anything back unless I bring the dog to her for a full refund. And this person handles animals every day. I'm now thinking about pursuing a case in small claims court.